Sitting down on my living room couch on 12/06/2025 – I huddled up in my warm blankets with a steaming cup of hot chocolate in my hand as I pressed the start button on my TV remote to begin my first virtual event of the semester – Hamilton on Broadway. Bundled up and cozy, my experience rewatching this cinematic masterpiece could only be one word – stellar. Simply put, there were countless parts of the magnificent Broadway that I was absolutely enraptured with.
The greatest song in the entirety of the musical has to be Alexander Hamilton, the very beginning, introducing Hamilton as a man that has been long overshadowed by other founding fathers despite his immense impact on America’s beginning. It brilliantly tells his story through his lens, despite some things behind being historically inaccurate, every single song was catchy and mesmerizing. Another favorite song of mine was Non-Stop, highlighting how Hamilton was a massive influence in the ratification of the U.S Constitution, fighting tooth and nail with the Federalist Papers. Not only that, the ending is nothing less than spectacular, and I was extremely emotional watching it. It’s absolutely heart wrenching and awe-inspiring watching Eliza Hamilton live to 99 years old, working hard to preserve her husband’s legacy – preserving old letters and papers of his, defending his reputation, advocating for the Washington monument and building the first orphanage in NYC that was inspired by his memory. I was extremely immersed in the musical from beginning to the end, barely moving in my seat. When I was finally done watching the musical, I was in shambles – tearing up and numb from the absolute spectacular sensation that was Hamilton.
Since reflecting, it becomes clear how much of a genius Lin-Manuel Miranda was. This musical is the pinnacle of the very things that we want to explore in Arts in NYC: Identity, community, diversity and the power in storytelling. It reimagined and retold a crucial moment in American history in a format that has been able to reach a massive audience globally, educating and entertaining people at the same time. Through captivating music and acting, Hamilton can be seen as an epitome of how art influences modern views, highlighting corruption, political power, compromise and individualism in America. Identity is explored in countless ways in Hamilton and I think it was extremely impactful how Lin used POC actors to depict different important American figures such as Thomas Jefferson and George Washington, which subtly reinforced the idea that Black, Latinx, Asian and marginalized groups have a place in theatre and American history. This is only heightened by how it managed to incorporate music types such as hip-hop, rap and R&B into its shows, genres that have been shunned for not being “sophisticated” enough for Broadway. All in all, Hamilton has absolutely shifted the public’s view on theatre, making it mainstream once more and sparking massive cultural conversations about its deeper meanings.
I had an absolute blast watching Hamilton, and I absolutely would watch it again. It reignited my love for Broadway, theater and American history and made me think about how I can incorporate art in my future. This event was absolutely worth attending!
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